


july

by boosol98



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Anyways, M/M, Not A Happy Ending, beautiful man jaehyun, just felt like being sad, so sorry i dont think any of my fics have happy endings, the ending is kind of rushed pls ignore it, time traveler doyoung, woooow i wrote this in like an hour its so bad im sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-23 23:22:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17089679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boosol98/pseuds/boosol98
Summary: in which doyoung is a time traveler and jaehyun, well, jaehyun is just a bit of a distraction.





	july

doyoung met jaehyun for the first time in downtown seoul in the year 1973. it was doyoung’s second jump. he was new and inexperienced, so he accidentally landed right in the middle of a bar. luckily, everyone was either dancing, busy sticking their tongues down someone else’s throat, or altogether too drunk to care that a random guy had just appeared seemingly out of nowhere on the dance floor. doyoung had blinked. once, twice, until the realization of what happened hit him. 

but before he could find a way to exit the bar, to go to the place he was supposed to land, a hand had grabbed him and pulled him back to the dance floor, to the exact place he had originally landed. through the deafening music and the smell of hard liquor and weed, doyoung managed to somewhat make out the stranger’s face. he had slightly rounded features, kind eyes that crinkled at the corners, and dimples that came along with a smile so bright it made doyoung feel like his insides were melting. doyoung forgot about his mission that night, dancing with him until his legs turned to jello and singing along to the songs of the 60s and 70s with him until his voice had disappeared. 

his name was jaehyun, doyoung had learned, months and several jumps later, when he found himself going back to the same bar. in jaehyun’s time, only 2 weeks had passed. 

the third time doyoung saw jaehyun was the first time he had saw him outside of the abstract darkness of the bar. jaehyun had asked doyoung out, called him cute and told him he wanted to get to know him more. doyoung almost said no, almost told him he was in fact a time traveller leaping through endless different eras of time trying to find an object able to save his reality, the crumbling world of 2035, but jaehyun looked at him with those deep brown eyes and doyoung couldn’t find it in himself to refuse. 

and so, on doyoung’s third visit back to jaehyun’s city in 1973, he walked with the other, exchanging stories as they made their way down the roads of seoul and through the suburban neighbourhoods shaded by towering oak trees. doyoung knew that he shouldn’t be doing this, he was far from being oblivious to the specific rules of time travel, but jaehyun looked ethereal standing under the sunshine, glowing like a thousand angels and smiling like he knew the answers to everything in the universe. 

doyoung just couldn’t look away. 

they eventually had arrived at a small cafe, jaehyun ordering a vanilla latte and doyoung an espresso. they talked for hours, shared more bits and pieces of their lives, (although doyoung had to lie a bit, saying he was also from an area in seoul), and doyoung found out that jaehyun was 23 years old and lived alone. he had no immediate family left, his parents dying when he was little while he was an only child. doyoung felt a pang in his chest. how jaehyun always managed to look so cheerful, doyoung could only ponder as he stared at the other, who was currently laughing amicably at something he had said. 

the two had said their goodbyes at the end of that day, doyoung promising he would meet jaehyun again at the same cafe in a week’s time. 

doyoung ended up getting stuck in paris in 1950 for over 2 years. apparently, the thing he was looking for was created in paris during that year. but no matter how much doyoung looked, he just couldn’t find it. and to make matters worse, someone else from his present had also come to that year, in hopes of getting the object before doyoung did, with intentions doyoung could recognize as far from good. and so he stayed, fighting off the other as well as trying to find the thing that would supposedly save them all. 

the fourth time doyoung saw jaehyun was after 2 years in doyoung’s time, and a week in jaehyun’s. jaehyun could tell immediately that something was different with doyoung when they met each other at the promised location, but didn’t say anything. doyoung was thankful. 

like the last time, the two ended up talking for others in the cafe, sharing quiet giggles and not-so-subtle leg kicking under the table. jaehyun had ended up dragging doyoung outside into the sun, where he pressed their lips together in a smile, and doyoung had felt real happiness for the first time in what seemed like centuries. 

doyoung and jaehyun kissed each other for a long time, and doyoung wanted to never let himself go from the other’s embrace. as they stumbled their way into jaehyun’s apartment, in a flurry of kisses and clothes being thrown across the room, a part of doyoung knew that he couldn’t keep up this lie much further. he knew jaehyun would eventually ask to see where he lived as well, in which he would have no real answer to. and a part of doyoung, a much deeper part of himself, knew that this was never going to work out. the longer he stayed with jaehyun, the more he was just going to end up hurting the latter. 

but doyoung was never good at self-control. he was exhausted from time traveling. he was exhausted from having to move from country to country, decade to decade, in search of something that might not even be there. being with jaehyun made him feel energized, it made him feel alive. 

doyoung needed that more than anything, but the deep, dark part of himself that was screaming at him to stop this madness never seemed to leave him alone. 

 

the fifth time doyoung saw jaehyun was the last time. 

they walked together under the moonlight, sidewalk illuminated by the street lamps and the sky above. doyoung was planning to tell jaehyun some shitty excuse about why they had to break up and then leave him forever, even though he knew it would hurt the both of them. but it was the only option he thought he had left until jaehyun said something that made doyoung freeze on the spot. 

“i was born in paris.” 

doyoung’s eyes widened. it was just a coincidence, he thought to himself. but as everything sunk in, doyoung knew that this was it. he was it. jaehyun was the object that 2035 desperately needed to save the world. 

and although no one ever told him directly, doyoung knew that if he brought jaehyun back with him, he wouldn’t live to see another day. doyoung fell to his knees then, breaking as tears spilled out of his eyes while his whole body racked with deep sobs. this was all so unfair. 

jaehyun had run to his side, looking so worried that it had doyoung crying even more. “it’s not fair,” doyoung screamed. jaehyun took his head and cradled it in his arms, patting his hair and whispering that it was okay, he was here and it was going to be okay. 

as the sobs turned into quiet tears rolling down his face, doyoung said in a whisper so quiet he wasn’t even sure if he had said it out loud, “i love you.” 

jaehyun returned it easily with a smile. “i love you too.”

so unfair. 

 

it wasn’t until they were back in jaehyun’s apartment that doyoung managed to tell him the full story. jaehyun took everything in without much question and didn’t seemed surprised at all. when he heard about himself being the thing that doyoung was looking for to save his era, his eyes only widened slightly before nodding in what seemed like finality and telling doyoung that he must bring him back. doyoung shook his head adamantly, saying there was no way he was going to let any harm come jaehyun’s way. jaehyun, in the harshest tone doyoung had ever heard him use, told him that he was being stupid and if the entire world was going to be at risk, of course he would sacrifice himself to save them. 

doyoung knew, deep inside, that jaehyun was right. this was the mission he was tasked with all those years ago, and after this, he could finally go back to living a normal life without messing with reality. he knew that time was ticking and if he didn’t bring back jaehyun soon, it would be too late. the thoughts stung him more than the effects of time travel ever could, and he realized that life would never be normal without jaehyun. but this time, truly, there was no option left. 

jaehyun took doyoung’s head in his hands and kissed him one last time. it was soft and warm but also bittersweet and almost sorrowful. they broke apart and doyoung took one last long look at jaehyun, tears threatening to spill out again, wanting to tell him he was every synonym of the word beautiful in existence. but time didn't permit that, so he ended up just hugging him as tight as he could, repeating the words i love you over and over. 

as doyoung held onto jaehyun’s hand, preparing to make the leap back to 2035, he heard the other whisper "thank you for being my happiness." 

doyoung closed his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> hiii i am so sorry  
> find me on twitter @daoyingzen


End file.
